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Domestic Violence Essay, Research
Paper

An American
football hero racing on the freeway in a white Ford Bronco, finally
stopping in front of his luxurious home. Six years or more ago this
scenario would have sounded like a clever advertisement campaign.
Replay the same scenario from 1994 forward and almost all Americans
will vividly recall the death of Nicole Simpson and her ex-husband
(0.J. Simpson) fleeing the police with a gun to his head. This single
event thrust the serious and deadly topic of domestic violence
awareness into the spotlight of the world.

There are
numerous dynamics that make up the deviant nature of domestic
violence. I will summarize five articles that discuss some of the
aspects of domestic violence and some of the ways society in the
United States combats it.

Statistics

Although
domestic violence touches all walks of life, government and academic
studies consistently demonstrate that the majority of victims in
heterosexual relationships are female and that batterers in
heterosexual relationships are overwhelmingly male. (Bureau of
Justice Statistics, 1997) Battering also occurs in lesbian and gay
relationships, and the use of gender specific language should not be
construed to mean that domestic violence exists only in heterosexual
relationships. Victims may be
doctors, business professionals, scientists or judges, among others.
Perpetrators may be police officers, sports heroes, CEOs or college
professors. Unlike victims, perpetrators do have at least two common
traits — the majority of perpetrators (1) witnessed domestic
violence in their family and (2) are male. (Hotaling & Sugarman,
1986; Stratus, 1980)

There are many
other staggering statistics pertaining to domestic violence, too many
to list them all. a woman is beaten every nine seconds in the United
States. Domestic violence is the most under reported crime in the
country, with the actual incidence 10 times higher than is reported.
By the most conservative estimate, each year 1 million women suffer
nonfatal violence by an intimate partner.Nearly
one in three adult women experiences at least one physical assault by
a partner during adulthood.Forty-seven
percent of men who beat their wives do so at least three times per
year. Domestic violence also has immediate and long-term detrimental
effects on children. Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are
exposed to violence by family members against their mothers or female
caretakers. In homes were partner abuse occurs, children are 1,500
times more likely to be abused. Forty to sixty percent of men who
abuse women also abuse children. A study in 1997 showed 27 percent of
domestic homicide victims were children and when children are killed
during a domestic dispute, 90 percent are under age 10; 56 percent
are under age 2.

Myths

An article found
on the American Bar Association Web page addresses the myths and
facts about domestic violence. The first myth is that victims of
domestic violence have psychological disorders. People who are not
abused think the victims of domestic violence must be sick or they
would not take the abuse. When, in reality, most victims are not
mentally ill, although people with mental disabilities are not immune
from being abused. Some victims of domestic violence suffer
psychological effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or
depression, as a result of being abused. (Dutton, The Dynamics of
Domestic Violence, 1994) Another myth is batterers abuse their
partners or spouses because of alcohol or drug abuse. Alcohol and
drug abuse does not cause a perpetrator to abuse the victim although
it is frequently used as an excuse. Substance abuse may increase
frequency or severity of the abuse. (Jillson & Scott, 1996)
another myth is that law enforcement and the court system, for
instance arresting batterers or issuing civil protection orders, are
useless. Conclusions drawn from research studies in this area have
brought two conflicting results. (See Buzawa & Buzawa, 1996;
Sherman & Berk, 1984; Zorza, 1994) Police officers must make
arrests, prosecutors must prosecute domestic violence cases, and
courts must enforce orders and handout stiff sentences for criminal
convictions.

The Male
Batterer

In the mid-1970s
battered women’s shelters were just beginning and the main focus
was developing services for the victims. Providing services and
looking out of the needs of the perpetrator was not a priority. It
was thought that focusing on the perpetrator was just another way men
took priority over women in our society. In 1977 Dr. Daniel Jay
Sonkin started calling the local battered women’s shelters. Six
months later he finally got to a return call from a director of one
of the shelters. After meeting with a director they realized there
was a mutual need each could provide for the other. In order for Dr.
Sonkin to get experience with counseling batterers the director
allowed to him to attend hotline training. The shelter needed
something to do with all the male perpetrators calling their hotline
looking for their partners who may have been residents of the
shelter. After attending hotline training the shelter would refer all
phone calls from the men to him. The phone calls started flooding in
to Dr. Sonkin. Most of the calls were crisis intervention counseling
in nature. The phone counseling led to one-on-one counseling which,
because of popularity led to group counseling and support groups. At
the same time other similar groups performing across the country. One
innovative therapist was developing a court mandated counseling
program in Santa Barbara. Dr. Sonkin acknowledges during this period
of time that he and other therapist were flying the seat of their
pants. Most of their knowledge came from alcohol and drug treatment
and they utilized whatever behavioral and cognitive interventions
seemed to fit the situation. He went on to point out that there was
an important social perspective to their work that was heavily
imposed by the feminist movement. It was believed the violence was
not just an individual or family problem, but a social problem rooted
in the devaluation of women in general.

Also during the
’70s the battered women’s movement began to focus attention on
the criminal justice system as being one solution to the problem.
Until this time, mediation, counseling and non-criminalization was
the typical way these cases were handled. Law enforcement viewed
domestic violence as a family problem not a criminal problem.
Advocates turned her attention to reforming the police and the
courts. California as well as other states passed pretrial diversion
laws to begin addressing domestic violence as a criminal problem. The
courts mandated batterers into counseling or education programs and
if they successfully completed the programs their record would be
expunged. Dr. Sonkin felt diversion was good for its time, primarily
because battered women had almost no protection from the criminal
justice system prior to this. The diversion was good in that
defendants were only offered it once every seven years and was only
offered in misdemeanor cases. The downside to diversion was that it
was only offered to misdemeanor defendants, and many felony charges
were reduced to misdemeanors to give the batterer the option of
diversion rather than jail.

In the 1980s
more funding was becoming available for counseling programs aimed at
the male batterers. The number of research studies focusing on the
male batterer dramatically increased during this decade. During this
highest point of popularity to date, providers started to fight
amongst themselves on which was the “right” way to treat the male
batterer. During the ’80s there was more pressure on the criminal
justice system to punish the male batterer rather than offer
diversion. With guilty verdicts hanging over the defendants head it
was thought that they would take counseling more seriously. Towards
the end of the 1980s the gap began to widen between the feminist
groups and the mental health professionals and the feminists went to
work at what was successful in the past — changing laws.

During the 1990s
politics became more apparent than in the past. Victims rights groups
put pressure on politicians to pass laws that counteracted the trend
of defendants rights of the previous two decades. Many of these laws
were reactionary to sensationalized crimes, which were highly
publicized. The three strikes legislation in California was a good
example of this. Dozens of laws were drafted as a result of the
kidnapping and murder of a teenage girl and one was enacted. Domestic
violence laws have also been reactionary in the past. Several years
ago a law was passed saying that all mental health professionals must
report a client who is being treated for domestic violence. The
intention of this law was good however many women did not seek help
of counselors for fear of their batterer being turned in. This law
was amended within one year to only include positions treating
physical injuries. Dr. Sonkin says he wouldn’t be surprised if a
group of battered women advocates get a law passed to expand the
special circumstances that qualify a defendant to be executed to
include spousal murder. In 1995 the California Legislature passed
Assembly Bill 168. This new law requires the defendant to plead
guilty immediately so his conviction comes before participation a
treatment program. This way if the defendant fails to complete the
treatment program the judge enters a guilty verdict and the defendant
is remanded to custody. If the treatment program is completed the
guilty plea is not entered into the court record. In addition to this
probation departments are also given the responsibility to certify
local treatment providers for batterers. Dr. Sonkin does not like
this aspect of the law because the wording of the law does not
specifically define providers as licensed counselors or therapists.
Although many of the providers are licensed mental health
professionals, many other people such as former probation officers,
retired police officers and others offer their version of the
treatment program. He believes this opens the door for
commercialization and believes people developing batterer
intervention programs may be doing it for a lucrative venture rather
than the goal of helping people. His opinion goes on to say that this
law is based on the feminist analysis of the problem of domestic
violence and, in particular, the Duluth Model of treating male
batterers. This perspective sees the causes of domestic violence
being social rather than psychological. His view is the Duluth Model
is narrow minded and the person who drafted this law presumed that
the model is the most effective method of treating male batterers
even though there’s no empirical research to date that supports his
viewpoint. He does not believe that this viewpoint will bring about a
reduction in domestic violence.

Dr. Sonkin does
not claim to have a solution to the problem of domestic violence. He
does believe that passing legislation such as Assembly Bill 168 that
inhibits people from developing new approaches is not the answer. He
believes that flexibility needs to return so providers and criminal
justice personnel can develop plans that make sense in each
individual case. The criminal justice system seems to like the way
that the law is functioning currently because things run smoother.
Dr. Sonkin says that just because the system run smoother it does not
address the complex issues of this social problem and both the
criminal justice system and health providers will need to develop
complex solutions.

America Wakes Up

An article in
Time magazine credits the death of Nicole Simpson for exposing the
brutality of domestic violence, a subject that was traditionally kept
silent. As a result of the Simpson drama, Americans are confronting
the violence that may occur when love goes bad. The week after the
Nicole Simpson’s death, phone calls to domestic violence hotlines
surged to record numbers. Women who did not have the strength to
leave their batterers in the past, suddenly found the strength to
leave their homes and seek safety in shelters. Debbie Tucker,
chairman of the National Domestic Violence Coalition of Public Policy
was surprised that everybody was so shocked with Nicole Simpson’s
death. She said “this happens all the time.” In Los Angeles,
where calls to abuse hotlines were up 80 percent after Nicole’s
death, experts sense a sort of awakening as women relate personally
to the tragedy.

Health and Human
Services Secretary Donna Shalala has warned domestic violence is an
unacknowledged epidemic in our society. After the Simpson tragedy the
New York State legislature unanimously passed a bill the mandates
arrest for any person who commits a domestic assault. California
Legislature now has a computerize registry of restraining orders and,
confiscates guns from men arrested for domestic violence.

The article
criticizes law enforcement for under enforcing domestic violence
laws, though many states require arrest when a reported domestic
dispute turns violent. The article says police often walk away if the
victim refuses to press charges, convinced that such battles are more
private and less serious.

Batterers commit
violence to maintain power in relationships. Men who batter believe
they have the right to do whatever it takes to regain control. When a
woman finally decides to leave or have the male batterer leave, he
sometimes panics about losing his woman and will do anything to
prevent from happening. The man may even stalk the woman or harass
her by telephone.

Women are most
in danger when they attempt to end a relationship. The two most
dangerous actions, which are likely to produce a deadly result, are
when a woman moves out of her residence and when she starts to date
another man. The article hints that restraining orders, divorce
papers, etc. are often seen by the man as a licensed to kill. Dr.
Park Dietz, a forensic psychiatrist and a leading expert on homicide
says, “a restraining order is a way of getting killed faster.
Someone who is truly dangerous will see this as an extreme denial of
what he’s entitled to, his God given right.” He goes on to say
that the paper is a threat to his own life and he may engage in
behavior that destroys the source of the threat. Victims can include
children, a woman’s lawyer, the judge that issues the restraining
order, or the cop who comes between.

Abuse experts do
not believe that a man’s obsession of love can drive beyond all
control. Some researchers believe that there is a physiological
factor in domestic abuse. One study conducted by the University of
Massachusetts medical center’s domestic violence research and
treatment center found that 61 percent of men involved in marital
violence have signs of severe head trauma.

One of the most
frequent questions asked when a woman’s killed by her partner is
“why didn’t she leave?” This question reflects a societal
assumption that women have the primary responsibility for stopping
abuse in a relationship. It is common for women who have been abused
to have self-esteem problems and feel they deserve to be battered.
Such perceptions are slowly beginning to change, again as a result of
Simpson’s slaying. Peggy Kerns, a Colorado State legislator said,
Simpson has almost legitimized the concerns and fears around domestic
violence.

Why Does She
Stay?

There are many
reasons why battered women remain with their partners. One woman, Pam
Butler, wrote an article attempting to answer this question. The male
batterer usually sweeps his woman off her feet while they’re
dating, never showing the evil side of themselves. Women fall in love
with these men not knowing who they really are. The violence usually
begins after the two get married. The battered victim does not want
to believe the person that she married is doing this to her. The
batterer tells the woman he does not know what came over him and
makes excuses for what he has done. The battered victim wants
desperately to believe anything other than they meant to batter her.
As long as a victim believes anything but the truth, they will stay.

The batterer
changes back and forth from the man they fell in love with to the
man, who beats them, keeping the victim confused. When things are
good the victims do not want to leave, and when they are being
battered they are too weak to fight, and they give up. The batterer
wears them down to the point that they only live to make him happy so
they won’t be hurt.

Eventually the
victim reaches a point where the fear of being injured or killed is
too great, or they see their children being hurt, and they decide to
leave. This is the time when something inside the victim changes.
They are through being battered and decide to leave the situation.
This could happen in seconds or could take years. This is time when
most women are killed.

After leaving
the batterer continues to harass and beg the victim to stay or come
home. When the victim refuses the batterer often threatens to kill
her, their children and her family. Miss Butler feels that America
tolerates domestic violence and blames the victims for it. She feels
the legal system is sometimes worse than the abuse she has suffered.

Why do most
victims stay? Because if she leaves, the chances increase that the
batterer may kill her. And if she wins in court, all she does is buy
some time.

Conclusion

The statistics
of domestic violence are shocking. Most Americans will be affected by
domestic violence in their lifetime, either as a victim, a friend of
a victim, the children of a victim and batterer or the batterer
himself. All of the articles reviewed in this paper have some
similarities. Nobody has a perfect method to stop domestic violence.
Domestic violence has shifted from a civil family problem (1970s and
prior) to a criminal problem. It seems that the mental health
professionals are the ones who truly see the abused person as the
victim of this deviant behavior. The court system has traditionally
treated the abused person harshly, and has been lenient with the
perpetrator. The murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, although tragic,
shined the spotlight on the topic of domestic violence. Her murder
also opened the eyes of many other victims and gave them the courage
to leave their abusers.

Politicians and
persons in elected positions have created many new programs and laws
since Nicole Simpson’s death. In Los Angeles County the Victim
Information & Notification Everyday (V.I.N.E.) program was
developed to help the victims of domestic violence. When a suspect is
arrested law enforcement officers are required to give the victim a
pamphlet which provides information about the V.I.N.E. system as well
as phone numbers for important programs and associations (shelters,
counseling, etc.) V.I.N.E. is a free, anonymous, computer-based
telephone program that provides victims of crime two important
services: information and notification. Victims can call the than
V.I.N.E. database and will quickly be told if the inmate is still in
custody and provide custody location. The victim may register for an
automated notification call when inmate is released or transferred.

The one thing
that everybody agrees with concerning domestic violence, is all
entities involved (mental health, law enforcement, court system, and
probation) must work together to have a realistic goal of preventing
this deviant behavior. Education programs similar to D.A.R.E. should
be taught to school age children to stop patterns of abuse from being
passed on from generation to generation.

 References

American
Psychological Association, Violence and the Family: report of the
American psychological association presidential task force on
violence in the family (1996), p. 10.

Gerald T.
Hotaling & David B. Sugarman, An Analysis of Risk Markers in
Husband to Wife Violence: The Current State of Knowledge, 1(2)
Violence and Victims 101,106 (1986); Murray A. Straus, Behind Closed
Doors: Violence in the American Family (1980).

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